Pueblo Chile Festival 

In Pueblo, the fragrance of roasting chilies signals the end of summer. Every year on the third weekend after Labor Day, thousands pay homage to Pueblo’s most-loved crop: green chilies. The Chile and Frijole Festival was created in 1994 to promote Pueblo’s rich agriculture as well as to encourage the community and region to buy local fresh products at the farm stands and specialty shops. Slowly it grow from a local event to one visited by tourists and foodies from all over America.

Pueblo chile is the most famous Colorado chile, attracting chile aficionados’ attention from around the world. Its pungency ranges between 5,000 and 20,000 Scoville Heat Units, the measurement method used to rank chile heat. Pueblo chilies are comparable to moderate jalapeno peppers and are usually a little warmer than cayenne peppers. The growing conditions in Southeastern Colorado render some of the best chile available. Hot, dry, sunny, summer days combined with rich soils and pure mountain fed water, yield some of the hottest and most flavorful chilies.  (1)

The variety of chile grown in Pueblo, Mosco chile, originated in Mexico and made their way into New Mexico and began to be grown in Pueblo County in the early 1900s. The families of some of the early farmers are still growing Pueblo chile, including the DiSanti family, who started farming on the St. Charles Mesa in the 1890s. Other multi-generational families include the Mauros and the Mussos.

The Mosco chile has a thicker flesh than most chile peppers. This allows it to be roasted, have the skin removed and still have more “meat” and texture left. Other varieties developed out of the Mosco strain include the Pueblo Popper chile, which grows upright and has a round shape that can be stuffed, and the Giadone chile, which was introduced at the Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival in 2018. The Giadone is named after Pete Giadone, a Pueblo farmer who was one of the founders of the Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival and the man who built the first chile roaster for the festival. The Giadone chile is similar to the Mosco, but is much hotter. (2) Mira Sol Chile is another popular variety.

The festival started 29 years ago as an initiative from the Dr Michael Bartolo and Rod Slyhoff, president of the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce at the time. Dr Bartolo, who grew up on a small farm in Pueblo and was the senior research scientist and extension vegetable crops specialist at the Colorado State University, states that the festival was formed to bring Colorado people back to the land. "The festival is one way to connect people to the food, the farmers and the land.”(2)

Roasting gives flavor and makes the peppers a little milder. How do they do it in Pueblo ? Watch the video below.

Pueblo County is a major contributor to Colorado’s dry bean industry, helping solidify the state’s status as a global dry edible bean supplier for 60-plus years. Growers across Colorado make it possible for the state to ship more than $30 million of beans annually with the majority of Colorado’s bean crop consisting of pinto beans, followed by the light red kidney, yellow, black, red and Amarillo bean varieties. According to the Colorado Department of Agriculture, Colorado-grown pinto beans are widely known for their bright color that differs from pinto beans grown elsewhere. “Frijoles have been grown in and around Pueblo for a long time, dating back to the Dust Bowl in the 1930s,” says Ryan Froman, who serves as farm manager for Rusler Produce. As Froman noted in 2019, “Because frijoles are legumes, they make a great rotation crop with corn and chiles and help keep our soil healthy, and they require less water than many other crops and have a relatively short growing season. Those are just a few reasons so many people in our area continue to grow them.” (3)

Before we go any further - let's look a little closer to the title of this festival and the spelling in this article.  Is it spelt correctly ?  Is it chile, chili or even chilli ?

Are they all the same thing ? Are you confused ? We were too. Over many decades it has caused many debates (including in our house - where even Alexa could not tell us the answer. Yes we asked her).  Many true hot pepper lovers and growers especially in the south will swear by chile which is the most common Spanish spelling in Mexico and other Latin American countries. It is also used in some parts of the United States and Canada when referring to the spicy pepper. The plural being simply "chile" or "chiles."

Chili with an "i" at the end is the Americanized version. shortened from the name of the dish carne con chili referring to the hot meat stew seasoned with chile. This also lead to the famous chili-dog found in carnivals and food trucks. Confusingly this can be read as chile-dog in some predominantly southern states.

Finally chilli with a double "l" is used in the United Kingdom, India, New Zealand and South Africa this stems from the roman spelling. (4)

The festival is held in downtown Pueblo along Union Avenue the main street.

Events include; street vendors, live entertainment, food trucks, music, magic, chile eating competition, cooking competitions, a Chihuahua Parade, Chile & Salsa Showdown and even a hot air balloon fest.  

Keep up to date on times and events HERE

This year the event will take place from Friday to Sunday, September 22nd to 24th, 2023. It’s held in the Pueblo downtown area on Union Avenue. The hours are Fri. 3pm-midnight; Sat. 10am-midnight; and Sun. 10am-6pm. $6 attendance free for Military personnel. Have fun ! Keep it spicy.

How to freeze and store your chile purchase ?  Click HERE

Pueblo Green Chile Cornbread

Dry Ingredients:

• 10 oz. A.P. flour

• 10 oz. corn meal

• 8 oz. sugar

• 1 oz. baking soda

• .4 oz. salt

Wet Ingredients:

4 oz. eggs

• 15 oz. milk

Ingredients to fold in:

• 4 oz. grated cheddar cheese

• 3 oz. diced Pueblo Green Chilies

• 4 oz. corn kernels

Equipment: 4-quart mixing bowl, whisk, rubber spatula, parchment paper, casserole dish, cooking spray

Directions:

• Mix the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients and mix with a whisk until just incorporated. Don’t over-mix.

• Gently fold in the cheese, chilies, and corn.

• Lightly spray casserole with spray, line with parchment paper, and spray the top of the paper. Be sure to spray side of the casserole dish, too.

• Pour mixture into casserole and bake a 350° F for 13 minutes. Cool and serve.

More sites for chile recipes:

https://www.readyfoods.biz/chile

https://pueblochile.org/recipe/

https://www.wenthere8this.com/air-fryer-jalapeno-poppers/

https://www.babaganosh.org/roasted-jalapenos/#how-to-make-roasted-jalapenos-in-the-air-fryer

How to roast Jalapenos:

https://peppergeek.com/how-to-roast-jalapenos/

Let us know your recipe - we will add them. Plus the author will cook them : ) Join us on Facebook 

References:

(1) https://pueblochile.org/

(2) https://www.coloradocountrylife.coop/the-heart-of-pueblo-chile/

(3) https://pueblochile.org/its-chile-pueblos-cause-for-celebration/

(4)https://www.thespruceeats.com/different-spellings-of-chile-2342844#:~:text=The%20Short%20Answer,%22chile%22%20is%20the%20pepper.